Michigan's nearly 3.9 million acres of State Forest Land are divided into 15 Forest Management Units

Each of the state's 15 Forest Management Units are divided into blocks called compartments. View an example of a compartment map. Each forest compartment is formally reviewed once every ten years.

Every forest compartment throughout the state is subdivided according to the type of trees in the forest. View an example of a cover type and treatment map.

The Process

The Inventory: Compiling Field Information
Using aerial photographs, land surveys, and other site specific information, Foresters visit, record biological data and map by tree species all the state-owned land in the compartment. Based on this information, foresters make initial recommendations for treatments including clear cutting, selective thinning, prescribed fires, tree planting or no treatment at all.

Multi-Disciplinary Input: The Big Picture
The inventory and draft recommendations are then reviewed by Forest Recreation Specialists, and often Ecologists, Foresters, Wildlife Biologists, Fisheries Biologists. This review results in management recommendationsthat have an ecosystem or holistic land management perspective. A broad range of biological, economic and social values and benefits are considered, including: campground management, fish habitat and river corridor protection, game species management, gas, mineral, oil, and timber management, historic and cultural resources, insect, disease, and invasive species management, rare or fragile species and natural community protection, soil protection, trail location and maintenance, wildfire control, and others.

The Open House: Your opportunity to Participate
These management recommendations are then presented at Open Houses. As the name implies, Open Houses are informal sessions that give citizens an opportunity to speak with foresters, wildlife biologists, and other resource professionals. The inventories, compartment maps, and recommended management actions are available for the public to look at and provide suggestions to MDNR staff.